Microsoft officials still are not saying when the actual Windows Phone 7.8 operating system will be made available to those with existing Windows Phones. The only official guidance was that it would be in early 2013. The 7.8 operating system already is shipping on new Windows Phones.

Windows Phone 7.8 brings the resizable live tiles that are part of the Windows Phone 8 operating system to some, but not all, existing Windows Phone devices. It also adds a couple of other more minor features, like new themes/accent colors and accidental device-wipe prevention.

About the author

Mary Jo Foley has been a tech journalist for almost 30 years. She is editor of ZDNet's "All About Microsoft" blog. She authored "Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era" and co-hosts the "Windows Weekly" podcast on the TWiT Network.
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